


Autistic Creative Challenge: Harry Potter

by AutisticWriter



Series: Autistic Headcanons [22]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: #redinstead, Ableism, Acceptance, Activism, Alexithymia, Autism, Autism Acceptance, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Arthur Weasley, Autistic Characters Written By An Autistic Author, Autistic Creative Challenge, Autistic Hermione Granger, Autistic Luna Lovegood, Autistic Neville Longbottom, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Boycott Autism Speaks, Bullying, Colours, Confusion, Crying, Cure Culture, Discrimination, Discussions Of Meltdowns, Don't Light It Up Blue, Drabble Collection, Echolalia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, Empathy, Epistolary, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Functioning Labels Are Useless, Hand Flapping, Herbology, Honesty, Hugs, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Infodumping, Inspiration, Kissing, Lies, Muggles, Multi, Neurodiversity, Newspapers, Nonverbal Communication, Nonverbal Episodes, Parenthood, Pets, Phone Calls & Telephones, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Pride, References to Sherlock Holmes, Routine, Sensory Overload, Sensory problems, Shutdowns, Sign Language, Social Issues, Special Interests, Speeches, Spoon Theory, Stim Toys, Stimming, Stimtastic, Support, Waiting Rooms, Worry, autism acceptance month, change, happiness, puzzle pieces, red instead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-08 21:31:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10396605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: A series of drabbles written for Autism Acceptance Month and inspired by uniqueaspergirl's Autistic Creative Challenge.These drabbles are about my Harry Potter autistic headcanons: Arthur Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.





	1. #redinstead

“Molly?” Arthur called.

“Yes, Arthur?”

“I’ve got something to show you.”

Smiling fondly, Molly put down her book and went through to the kitchen, wondering what Arthur had done. When he saw her, Arthur grabbed her hand and practically dragged Molly out into the garden, towards the shed.

Arthur opened the shed door... and Molly’s eyes widened. Their Ford Anglia was now bright red, with gold stripes running down the sides and the Gryffindor emblem on the bonnet.

“Do you like it?” he asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Molly grinned and hugged him tightly. “I love it.”


	2. Stimming

As Arthur sat in the shed, rocking backwards and forwards in his seat, he picked up his screwdriver and carefully undid the screws on the three pin plug. He had a guide to wiring plugs pinned to the wall, but he knew the steps off by heart.

“Three pin plug,” Arthur muttered, loving the sound saying those words made. “Three pin plug. Three pin plug.”

He rocked harder and bounced his legs up and down under the desk. Rocking made him feel quite dizzy, but it was a wonderful feeling, so he didn’t stop. He didn’t ever want to stop.


	3. Special Interest

She had always been fascinated with magic. For as long as she can remember, Hermione had studied books and learned about witchcraft, her fascination often bordering on obsession. But her parents, unlike everyone else she knew, never tried to stop her; in fact, they encouraged her to learn and were happy to hear her infodump about magic.

But Hermione had never considered that magic might be real. And the level of excitement she felt when a _witch_ from a _magic school_ turned up on her doorstep and told her she was a witch made her flap and squeal in excitement.


	4. Communication

Neville is almost always verbal; even though he struggles with sarcasm and reciprocating conversation, he can usually speak fluently.

But then there are the times when he gets overwhelmed (when he’s tired or stressed or having sensory overload), and he has a shutdown. Despite how much Neville tries to force the words out, his mouth won’t say them and no sound comes out of his voice box. For those few minutes, and the hour or so afterwards, he cannot speak at all.

His words come back slowly, but it is harder now, and he knows it will probably happen again.


	5. Freebie

“Do you advocate for a cure?”

Luna blinks, not sure of what she has just heard. She looks at the reporter; he looks sincere, but how can he be serious?

“I beg your pardon?” she asks, signing as she speaks.

“Do you want there to be a cure for autism?”

“Why on earth would you think that’s what I think?” she says, trying to stay calm. “What do you think Neurodiversity even means? There’s nothing wrong with us. Why would we want a cure? Why would you think we do?”

The reporter has gone red.

“I’ll put no,” he mumbles.


	6. Food

It is no secret that Neville has a complicated relationship with food.

His diet is restricted; it’s common to find him eating the same thing for lunch for weeks at a time. Texture often matters more than taste. He can think something is delicious, but its texture is so bad he cannot eat it. And his food can’t touch at all without making him feel really sick.

His grandmother says he is a picky eater, but it isn’t by choice. Neville knows his problem with food annoys her, but he doesn’t mean to be annoying; he just can’t help it.


	7. Spoons

“Hermione, can I ask you something?”

Hermione smiled as Mr Weasley approached her. “What’s it about?”

“I read something in my book about plugs, and I was wondering...”

“Um, sorry, Mr Weasley,” she said, cutting him off, “but I don’t think I’ve got enough spoons at the moment. Can we have a chat later?”

“Spoons?” he said, confused. “Would you like to borrow some from the kitchen?”

Hermione chuckled. “No, I don’t mean real spoons. It’s just a way of explaining how much energy you’ve got. I didn’t mean to confuse you.”

“It’s all right,” he said, smiling. “Spoons. Spoons...”


	8. Crowd

Neville hates mealtimes at Hogwarts. The Great Hall is too crowded, and all the voices and people and smells quickly make him very stressed. Within a few minutes, he always starts bouncing his legs and wringing his hands in an attempt to calm himself down. He often ends up so overwhelmed that he feels too sick to eat, meaning being there is completely pointless.

But he’s worked out a way to cope now. He doesn’t go down to the Hall until it is nearly empty, meaning everything is much calmer and less overwhelming, and he can actually eat in peace.


	9. Phone Calls

Ron can’t be trusted to phone Harry after he ended up screaming down the line, so it is obviously up to Hermione to keep in contact with their friend. But it’s more difficult for her than it might seem, as Hermione really struggles with phone calls.

She never knows when she needs to speak, and awkward pauses make her really uncomfortable. She usually avoids the phone, but she knows she has to do this to support Harry.

So Hermione has to take a deep breath and use her script and just reassure herself that she’s better at this than Ron.


	10. Labels

“I know you’re an autistic advocate, Miss Lovegood—”

“Lovegood-Weasley,” Luna interjects.

“Yes,” the reporter says, frowning. “But I’m not sure how you can say you advocate for all autistics.”

“What?”

“Well, I mean, you’re very high functioning, aren’t you?”

Luna’s eyes widen. “Are you serious? I’m not ‘high functioning’. I’m non- or partly-verbal most of the time. I can’t do most things on my own. I have frequent self injurious meltdowns. What’s high functioning about that? Not to mention that functioning labels are pointless. We’re all just autistic.”

The reporter clears her throat and goes to talk to someone else.


	11. Collection

It has never occurred to her before, but Hermione might have a few too many stim toys.

Her bedroom at home and her trunk at Hogwarts are full of Tangles and chewable necklaces and stress balls and fiddle toys and so many things that spin and whirr and make beautiful patterns when she shakes them that Mum says she might have more stim toys that Stimtastic.

But is having that many really a bad thing? After all, they all help her, and her autistic friends too.

So, on reflection, maybe there isn’t such a thing as too many stim toys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you stim, you might be interested in the stim toys sold by Stimtastic. Their website can be found here: https://www.stimtastic.co/


	12. Sensory Overload

Arthur’s worst subject at Hogwarts was Potions. Not because he was bad at following instructions (as long as they’re written down, he’s always been good at following instructions), but because he couldn’t cope in the Potions classroom without going into sensory overload.

The potions were too smelly, the air too smoky, the ingredients far too slimy, the room too hot... until he was left almost crying and feeling horribly sick.

His professor made accommodations, but he still found it extremely difficult. Basically, he hated Potions, and was glad when he failed his OWL and never had to study it again.


	13. Autistic Character

“You know Sherlock Holmes?”

“Not personally,” Ginny said.

Luna saw she was smiling and raised her eyebrows. “How amusing, Ginny.”

Ginny giggled. “No, but seriously, I have. Dad used to read the books to me and Ron at bedtime.”

“That’s good,” Luna said, smiling. “I was wondering if Holmes ever came across to you as autistic. I mean, he probably isn’t, but I just really get that autistic vibe from him when I read the books.”

“Yeah...” Ginny said slowly. “I see what you mean. Hey, maybe that’s why Dad likes them so much.”

Luna grinned and hugged her girlfriend.


	14. Nonverbal

Hermione can’t remember the last time she went nonverbal, so it is naturally rather unnerving for it to be happening now.

Still, she understands how it has happened. She knows she has been studying too hard for her NEWTs, and it makes perfect sense that she has become totally exhausted. And exhaustion is what always used to make her go nonverbal.

Luckily, she knows a bit of sign language from when she learned it with Luna, so Hermione knows she still has a way to communicate until her words return.

Although, right now, all she wants to do is rest.


	15. Stim Toys

Ever since Hermione showed him the Stimtastic website, Arthur’s collection of stim toys has grown rapidly. He is sure he has almost every stim toy they sell now.

But despite his vast collection, there are two stim toys that remain his favourites.

The first is his spinner ring, because it is small and subtle and perfect for situations where he doesn’t want people to see him stimming.

And the second is his chewable mushroom necklace. It is the perfect shape and is wonderfully calming when he chews on it. And, most importantly, it stops him biting himself when he’s stressed.


	16. Autistic Utopia

His shed has always been his favourite place. It is nice and cool, it’s not too bright, and it’s lovely and quiet. His chair is padded and rocks when he himself rocks backwards and forwards in his seat. The shed is full of his favourite things, the walls decorated with posters and pictures about plugs and everything to do with Muggles. The draws of his desk are full of his favourite stim toys, and he often chews on his chewy necklace as he is wiring plugs or reading about Muggles.

Basically, it is the perfect place for him to relax.


	17. Inspiration

In bed after a long day campaigning, Hermione was understandably exhausted. Ron knew his wife got tired a lot easier than he did (he knew her sensory issues were a big part of it), so he happily went to bed and cuddled her as they chatted about their days.

“I met a young girl,” Hermione said. “She was so happy to see me, flapping her hands and everything. She told me she was so inspired by my work and she wanted to an activist too when she grows up.” She smiled, tears in her eyes. “It made me so happy.”


	18. Puzzle Piece

Luna never goes into the Muggle world in April. Everyone is wearing blue, and there are bloody puzzle pieces everywhere. She can talk until she goes nonverbal about how much she hates being compared to a missing piece of a puzzle, but no one seems to listen. And going around and seeing bigots spreading hate always makes her have a meltdown, so she just avoids the whole place for the whole month, just in case.

But this year... Luna smiles and pulls on her red jumper as she and Ginny prepare to join the Muggle activists by wearing Red Instead.


	19. Routine

People find Neville’s routines annoying, but they are a complete necessity.

Without his chart, he has no idea when to do things, and confusion makes him panicked and stressed. So he needs to know exactly when to get up, to brush his teeth, to go down to breakfast, because it is only with his rules he manages to do anything at all, especially without having a meltdown on the way.

He tries to explain, but he just gets mocked and called stupid, weird and annoying. But he isn’t any of those things; he just needs help to get things done.


	20. Animal or Pet

After only having him for a few hours, Hermione knows that Crookshanks is wonderfully stimmy. His fur is thick and lovely to run her fingers though, whilst his weight on her lap is the perfect pressure stim. And the purr he makes when she gives him a fuss is a beautiful noise that calms her for reasons she can’t quite explain.

Crookshanks is very important to her, which is why she won’t get rid of him, no matter what Ron says. Not only is he her companion, but Crookshanks is better than a million stim toys, and she needs him.


	21. Honesty

Arthur has always struggled to lie. He knows how it is done, and that lying is often necessary, but his brain just can’t work it out. It’s like his brain is a Muggle computer, and it can only understand things it’s programmed to do. And his brain isn’t programmed to lie.

He can force himself to do it if he has to, but he doesn’t sound convincing. More than once he’s made Molly laugh by telling a dreadful lie.

It doesn’t make him feel guilty; he just can’t tell a convincing lie, and he can’t understand how other people do.


	22. Favourite Place

Neville loves the greenhouses. Well, he loves the entire grounds, but the greenhouses are his favourite place. Every part of them, the smells, the lighting... they’re just perfect.

And, of course, they are full of his favourite things. There are so many plants in the greenhouses that if Neville got out his Herbology textbook it would take him hours to try to identify them all.

He’s Professor Sprout’s favourite student, so she lets him into the greenhouses between classes; he often goes into one of them to calm down when he’s melting down. And it really does calm him down.


	23. Happiness

“What does happiness feel like?”

Ginny stared at Luna, unsure how to answer such a bemusing question.

“I only ask because I really struggle to read my own emotions. And I thought if I knew how other people feel when they’re happy, then it might help me understand.”

“Well...” Ginny said, thinking hard. “I suppose it’s what makes me laugh, what helps me relax if I’m tense, what makes me want to spend time with someone again. Basically, how I feel when I’m with you.”

Luna blushed, but she nodded her head.

“Thank you,” she said, and she kissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The condition that makes it difficult to read you own emotions is called Alexithymia. It's quite common in autistic people. You can read more about it here:  
> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexithymia


	24. Support

It might not seem obvious, but Arthur relies on Molly.

Without her constant prompts and reminders, he would forget to do lots of things, including: eating (she leaves notes around the house reminding him to eat), washing (Molly reminds him to shower every other day, otherwise he wouldn’t have a wash for ages) and even going to work (he needs to be reminded when to leave the house). Basically, he wouldn’t be able to function without Molly’s constant prompts and support.

He relies on her (he needs her) and he can’t thank her enough for all she does for him.


	25. Freebie

When Molly asked him out on a date, Arthur started crying. Not because he was sad, but because he was so happy to be being asked out by the girl he loved.

That was what he told Molly, but there was another reason why.

He also cried because he remembered what people used to say to him. The boys who bullied him as a young boy always told him he was annoying and useless, and nobody would ever like him, let alone love him.

And he cried because he was just so relieved that their hateful words hadn’t come true.


	26. Echolalia

“Are you all right, Neville?” Harry asked.

He was staring at Neville from the other side of their dormitory. Neville was sat cross-legged on his leg, rocking backwards and forwards and looking really stressed. He was used to seeing Neville get stressed, but he never looked this bad.

“Are you all right, Neville?” Neville said, his voice flat and monotonous. And then he looked up at Harry and smiled weakly. “Sorry. But, yeah, I think I’m all right.”

Harry wasn’t so sure. Because it wasn’t normal to repeat someone’s words right back to them, was it? He was rather confused.


	27. Colour

Luna loves the colour blue; it’s the colour of so many beautiful magical plants and creatures, and it’s the colour of her Hogwarts house.

However, she also hates the colour, because it has been co-opted by a hate group. Every April, a truly horrible Muggle ‘charity’ makes everyone wear blue to support ‘awareness’ for autism.

She happily wears Red Instead, but she still hates how such horrible people have stolen her colour, whilst also taking away her personhood though the disgusting things they say about autism.

Basically, she hates April and she definitely hates Muggles who ‘Light it up Blue’.


	28. Empathy

Arthur has always struggled to control his emotions. He feels them intensely, and it can be very difficult for him to calm down once he has become excited or angry.

He particularly struggles with empathy. Despite the stereotype, Arthur has very high empathy, to the point that a sad story in the newspaper or seeing someone cry can upset him so much that he cries and has a meltdown.

This emotional response used to make him feel ashamed, but Molly has been helping him to accept himself. Because being emotional isn’t a bad thing, and there’s nothing wrong with crying.


	29. Overthinking

“I don’t understand,” Hermione said, pacing the length of the waiting room, her hands wringing in fear and frustration. “How could this have happened?”

“It was just an accident, dear,” Ron said.

“I know, but how didn’t I notice? I always supervise them. How did I miss...” she trailed off, pressing her hands against her face. Ron heard her breathing hitch.

“Hermione?”

“Why didn’t I check the broom first? This is my fault... I’m an awful mother.”

As she sobbed, Ron pulled Hermione into a tight hug.

“It’s not your fault,” he soothed. “And Hugo’ll be all right. I promise.”


	30. Neurotypical

On 21st May, the founders of the Magical Neurodiversity Movement gave speeches at the Ministry of Magic.

“We just want people to understand that being disabled isn’t a bad thing,” said Luna Lovegood-Weasley, 24. “And I don’t think enough people realise that.”

The Movement hopes to change the laws surrounding educational and workplace discrimination towards those with developmental disabilities. So far, they have succeeded in allowing disabled students accommodations in their lessons and exams.

“Workplace discrimination is a massive problem,” said Hermione Granger-Weasley, 26. “It's still legal to refuse to hire an autistic person. And that has to change.”


End file.
